Stigmomyrmex venustus

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Stigmomyrmex venustus
Temporal range: Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Stigmomyrmex
Species: S. venustus
Binomial name
Stigmomyrmex venustus
Mayr, 1868

Radchenko and Dlussky (2017) - Described from a single worker from the collection of Königsberg Museum (collection of Dr. Menge, Baltic amber). In his monograph, Wheeler (1915) reported three additional workers to Mayr’s holotype in the same Museum and he made some additional notes to Mayr’s original description and provided an excellent figure. The holotype specimen of S. venustus as well as three workers investigated by Wheeler seems to be lost (A. Gehler, personal communication, 2017). We found three workers from the Bitterfeld and Baltic ambers that fit well to the description of S. venustus: No. 27.176 (GZG.BST), and No. 218 and 245 (collection of Gröhn). However, none are in a good condition and many important diagnostic features are obscured, therefore we avoid designating one as the neotype of this species in the hope that better examples might be found.

Identification

Radchenko and Dlussky (2017) - Apart from the generic characters, S. venustus is typified by the quite peculiar foveolate sculpture on its head, mesosoma and waist, with no trace of rugulosity and by the absence of standing hairs on the legs.

Distribution

This taxon was described from Baltic amber (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) and is also known from Bitterfeld amber (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) (Perkovsky, 2016).

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • venustus. †Stigmomyrmex venustus Mayr, 1868c: 97, pl. 5, figs. 99, 100 (w.) BALTIC AMBER (Eocene).

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

References